A Southern California family living in a mountain community got a shock earlier this month when they recorded the moment a mudslide swept away their Jeep from the driveway and down a hillside.
Jessica Richey and her family were inside their home in Forest Falls on Sept. 12 when downpours brought on during Tropical Storm Kay caused a mudslide.
In parts of the community and nearby Oak Glen, the mudslides caused a large debris flow, full of mud and "extremely large boulders," to hurtle downhill "and carrying away everything in its path," authorities said at the time.
But the mudslide that raced past the Richeys' home didn’t just carry rocks and debris – it also swept away their car.
"Mom, the Jeep is gone," Richey’s son can be heard saying in part of the video.
Video from the family’s doorbell camera captured the moment that the green Jeep was washed down the hillside.
On Sept. 12, late thunderstorms triggered the mudslides, carrying rocks, trees and earth that washed away cars, buried homes and affected 3,000 residents in Forest Falls and Oak Glen.
The body of 62-year-old Forest Falls resident Doris Jagiello was found Thursday, buried under several feet of mud. Her remains were located about 20 to 30 feet from her home.
Rocks ranging from the size of basketballs to boulders to the size of small cars had crashed into Jagiello’s home, San Bernardino Sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Allison said.
One of her dogs was found alive inside her house but two others remain missing, Allison said.
Mudslides had been a concern in areas of the San Bernardino Mountains that were burned by the deadly El Dorado Fire, which was sparked two years ago when a couple used a smoke device to reveal their baby’s gender. The couple was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of a firefighter.
Forest Falls is a former summer getaway for cabin owners in the San Bernardino Mountains that has become a bedroom community.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
